Reproducible LESSON PLAN LITTLE DUCKS GO An I Like to Read® Book, Level C written and illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully Mother Duck is out for a stroll with her ducklings. Where, oh where, will the little ducks go? Guided Reading Level: C/Emergent Reader Grade level Equivalent: Kindergarten Interest Level: Pre-K–2 HC: 9780823429417/PB: 9780823433001 Ages 4–8 • E-book available Instructional Standards Reading Literature: RL.K.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,10/RL.1.1,2,3,4,5,7 Reading Foundation Skills: RF.K.1,2a,2c,2e,3,3a,3c,3d,4/RF.1.1,1a,2,2b,2d,3,3b,4 Writing: W.K-1.3,6,8 Speaking and Listening: SL.K-1.1,2,4,5,6 Language: L.K.1,1b,1d,2,2a,2c,2d,4,5,5d,6/L.1.1,2,2a,2e,4,5,5d,6 Learning Objectives: Read emergent text with purpose and understanding, retell familiar stories including key details, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story, read common high-frequency words by sight, identify problem and solution. BEFORE READING 1. Read the title and discuss the cover illustration. 2. Write “little ducks go” on the board. Where are the little ducks going? 3. Where do ducks live? Where have you seen ducks? 4. What is a baby duck called (duckling)? 5. Create a chart about what we know about ducks (sounds they make, what they look like, where they live, what they eat). 6. Read the names of the author/illustrator. Discuss the role of each. 7. Explain to the students that Emily Arnold McCully writes many children’s books. Display some of her books (Sam and the Big Kids, 3,2,1 Go!, Pete Likes Bunny, Pete Makes Mistakes). 8. Take a picture walk through the book. 9. Have students predict what the story will be about. 10. Write the vocabulary words on the board: little, ducks, go, look(s), out, they, down, mother, up, quack, cheep, run(s), car(s), safe, stop, help, man, away, says, sits, hears, comes, get, net, into. 11. Invite students to identify the verbs or action words from the story. Create a list: go, get, looks, runs, comes, helps, says, sits, hears, stops. Invite students to identify the root words. Word Work Mini Lesson: Discuss Verb Conjugation Conjugating a verb is simply creating an orderly arrangement of its many forms. We use different forms of the same verb depending of the situation. For example, we can change the verbs walk to walks and see to sees. Page 1 of 2 HolidayHouse.com/ILiketoRead Reproducible SEE: You: see He, she, it: sees We: see They: see Invite students to give examples for each “person.” Chart responses. 12. Discuss the text type of the story. Ask students to use evidence from the illustration to explain why this book is fiction. 13. Read the book to find out who, what, where, when, and why (story elements). DURING READING 1. Read the story aloud. Ask students to follow along as you read. Remind students to point to each word as they read. 2. Read the story with the group (choral reading). 3. Have the students read the book independently. 4. Discuss the purpose of commas, exclamation points, and quotation marks in the story. 5. Ask the students how the illustrations and words help us understand what the story is going to be about. 6. Find the words that are repeated in the book. 7. Who is this story mostly about (main character)? 8. Where does the story take place (setting)? 9. Who is “they” in the story? 10. Who is speaking at different times in the story? What are they saying? 11. What happens? 12. What is Mother Duck’s problem? How is the problem solved? 13. How did she let people know that her ducklings were in trouble? AFTER READING 1. Retell the story in your own words. 2. What was your favorite part of the story? 3. What would you do if you saw a duck in the middle of the road? 4. Do you think that Mother Duck was a good communicator? 5. How do people in a community or neighborhood work together? Find examples from the story. 6. Write a thank-you note to one of the people in the story who helped Mother Duck. Use information from the story. 7. Create a list of animal sounds. How do other animals communicate (onomatopoeia)? 8. Write a sentence and draw a picture of an animal making a sound. (Reinforce the use of quotation marks.) Ex: The bee went “buzzzzz.” The lion said “ROARRRRRR.” 9. As a group, research real ducks. How do they behave as mothers from the time they lay eggs to when the ducklings are independent? 10. Read other Emily Arnold McCully books in the I Like to Read® series. Compare and contrast the characters, settings, and events from the stories. Guide written by Marla Conn, reading/literacy specialist and educational consultant 1.18 Page 2 of 2 HolidayHouse.com/ILiketoRead .